Bruce wrote:
"In the meantime, I am curious how ColdFusion Studio compares to that other
HTML editor that I have heard good (i.e., accessible) things about,
HoTMetaL Pro. Has anyone on this list compared both? Which did you pick
and why? Is ColdFusion Studio's main advantage that it can naturally be
extended to work with a server product (ColdFusion)?"
Reply:
First, if you don't need the power of the Cold Fusion markup
language/server, then you should be looking at HomeSite. HomeSite is Cold
Fusion Studio without the Cold Fusion.
Compared to HotMetal Pro, well, there is no comparison. I shelled out hard
cash for HotMetal Pro back when I first started coding (after rejecting
FrontPage in less than a week). I ended up using Notepad. HotMetal Pro was
so slow, so aggravating (it changed my code without my permission) that I
actually preferred Notepad.
A couple of months later, I downloaded a trial version of CF Studio 3.1. In
less than a day I was hooked. In fact, I found it so useful that I actually
experienced a high (a rush, if you will) when I used it. Now, I can't
imagine writing HTML without it. Best $300 I ever spent.
I've tried HomeSite and it is virtually identical.
The new 4.0 versions have a sort of WYSIWYG mode, though I don't know why
anyone would ever need it. You can hand code so easily in HomeSite.
All tags are nicely color coded. You can toggle a tag completion feature
that allows you to simply hit enter after the first few characters and
HomeSite will do the rest. As you space for the first attribute, HomeSite
gives you a list of choices, same thing when you're looking for values. Most
importantly, HomeSite (CFS) NEVER reformats my code without my knowledge. If
I do something wrong, it will warn me, but it never forces me to change it.
There's a very good validator. You can check all your links easily. There's
global find and global search/replace WITH regular expressions. I use these
features daily.
You can organize your work in projects, upload to a remote server (FTP
included), share projects with version control, etc. The list goes on and
on.
The program is very savvy, and pretty much up-to-date with HTML 4.0 and
CSS1. I expect that the next release will include XML, CSS2, and more.
Best of all, if you're really serious, you can adapt the HomeSite
environment to your needs. It is almost infinitely adaptable to the serious
programmer.
I highly recommend it. Download a trial version from http://www.allaire.com
and check it out.
(Note: I was so turned off by HotMetal Pro 4.0 that I haven't tried their
latest version. It might be better. And the HotMetal folks have shown a
great interest in accessibility.)
Charles Munat